 Shape your future waste services
More than 3,500 people have already had their say on future of waste services. It takes about five minutes.
Wheelie bins, fortnightly collections and more are all on the table as we look at ways to force up recycling rates and get better value for the tax payer. Respond using the button below.
 Options for financial help
Visit the cost of living help hub for the latest advice for you and your family:
Household Support Fund
The latest round of the Household Support Fund is now open for applications. This is open to those struggling with rising costs of living as well as people in receipt of benefits.
Our partners can provide £120 in the form of food, fuel or cash vouchers.
Or if you live in Wokingham Borough and have a child or children on benefits-related free school meals, you can apply for £15 per week for each eligible child just ahead of half-term, the Christmas and Easter holidays.
Older family members
If you’ve got older family members they may be entitled to:
 Supporting Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Our teams took part in this year’s domestic abuse prevention convention.
We joined attendees from across the borough, as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, to better understand how we can work together to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
Hosted by Kaleidoscopic UK, a local charity for survivors of domestic abuse, the convention aimed to inspire, educate and empower attendees. Watch the charity's video to find out more on its work.
The convention, which took place at FBC Centre in Finchampstead, featured a full day of topics and talks delivered by inspirational domestic abuse survivors and multi-agency professionals who work within this area.
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, 568 men and 1,479 women reported domestic abuse incidents to Thames Valley Police from the Wokingham borough but statistically this figure under-represents the number of people who are affected.
 Rewards for walking and cycling this winter
Everyone aged over 13 who lives, works or studies in Wokingham borough has even more time to rack up points and win prizes for walking, cycling or using public transport.
The My Journey Wokingham Challenge, run by our My Journey team in partnership with the Innovation Valley Rewards smartphone app, has been extended from its original closing date on 31 October until 31 March next year at the earliest.
The app uses your phone’s GPS tracker to detect how far you’ve travelled and by which mode, then awards points called ValleyCoins as well as virtual “medals” for using greener methods. It tracks progress over time and measures things like calories burned and carbon emissions saved.
ValleyCoins can be redeemed for vouchers with high street retailers, including supermarkets, or donated to charity. Users can also earn ValleyTickets on public transport to enter draws for up to £100 worth of ValleyCoin and there are special promotions during annual events like Car Free Day.
Innovation Valley Rewards is available for Apple and Android devices.
Saddling up to smash local records
The news comes as the borough celebrates another highly successful Cycle September challenge, organised by Love to Ride Wokingham, and gears up for Love to Ride’s Winter Wheelers initiative in the run-up to Christmas.
The former saw a local resident win the top prize of a new electric bike worth £2,499, which was provided by Love to Ride, while participants cycled a total of 46,259 miles - the equivalent of travelling from London to New York and back more than six times, beating last year’s total of 42,558 miles.
Look out for more announcements about Winter Wheelers nearer the time or visit the Love to Ride website.
What you might have missed
That’s all the updates we’ve sent in the last week. Sign up for updates using our registration form.
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